NFL Week 2 wraps up tonight with a pair of Monday Night Football matchups. We have the New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers and then the Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburgh Steelers for an awesome MNF doubleheader. Before the games get underway, let's dive into top NFL Underdog Fantasy picks for the Saints vs Panthers and Browns vs Steelers divisional showdowns. Our top NFL picks today feature Saints RB Jamaal Williams and Steelers QB Kenny Pickett. Enjoy these NFL Underdog top plays and Thursday Night Football picks as you watch tonight's games. If you're making more NFL picks tonight or setting NFL DFS lineups, check out our NFL daily projections. Now, let's dive into the top NFL Week 2 picks on Underdog Fantasy for Monday night's matchups.

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NFL Underdog Fantasy Top Picks

Week 2 Monday Night Football Predictions

Jamaal Williams, New Orleans Saints – HIGHER Than 58.5 Rushing Yards

In Week 1, Jamaal Williams only rushed for 45 yards in the close win over the Titans. However, we can count on a better effort tonight in an easier matchup and plenty of volume for the New Orleans Saints’ lead back. It’s worth mentioning that the Titans just held the Chargers to 61 total rushing yards in Week 2 with top RB Joshua Kelley only gaining 39 on 13 carries. The Tennessee rush defense was the best in the league last year and a tough one for Williams to face right away. The Carolina Panthers, on the other hand, gave up 130 rushing yards to the Falcons last week with both Tyler Allgeier (75 yards, 5.0 ypc) and Bijan Robinson (56 yards, 5.6 ypc) having success on the ground. 

As for Williams, he’s getting the lion’s share of carries in the Saints backfield right now with Alvin Kamara suspended. He’s locked into even more touches with Kendre Miller questionable to play tonight with a hamstring injury. In that Week 1 game, Williams saw 18 rush attempts while New Orleans only gave a few carries to a combination of Tony Jones, Taysom Hill, and Rashid Shaheed. If Miller is out tonight, or limited with that injury, then Williams should see 15-20 carries again. 

That rushing volume and the better matchup will give Williams more success in terms of total rushing yards tonight. When he saw 15+ carries with the Detroit Lions last season, Williams had at least 59 rushing yards in nine of 11 games and 56 yards in another. He also averaged 72.2 rushing yards per game when getting 12+ carries. For what it’s worth, Kamara had 60+ rushing yards in both meetings last year vs Carolina as the Saints’ lead back. It’s not exactly apples-to-apples, but at least the offense knows it can have success on the ground in this matchup. 

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers – LOWER Than 201.5 Passing Yards

Tonight’s Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburgh Steelers matchup should be a lower-scoring one and we’re banking on Kenny Pickett’s passing yards to be held in check. This line is low, but it’s right on par with Pickett’s track record. As a rookie last year, the Steelers quarterback had less than 200 passing yards in eight of 12 starts. One of the times he went over was in a high-scoring 37-30 loss to the Bengals. Another came in a 38-3 loss to Buffalo when Pickett chucked it 52 times. 

Tonight’s matchup features a 38 over/under and the Steelers as slight 2-point underdogs on the spread. The Pittsburgh offense should lean on the run game with Najee Harris and use shorter, quick completions in the passing attack. Pickett also isn’t asked to throw downfield very often. He had 232 passing yards in last week’s loss to the 49ers, but that was also a game situation where the Steelers were trailing the whole way as Pickett launched 46 pass attempts. 

Then there’s the stout Browns pass defense that allowed only 196.2 passing yards per game last season (5th-best in the NFL). Cleveland held Joe Burrow to just 82 passing yards in Week 1. Of course, that was a rainy afternoon and Burrow wasn’t in sync with his receivers after missing practice with that calf injury. Even so, this matchup and the game flow will limit Pickett’s passing yards tonight. Plus, Steelers top wideout Diontae Johnson is out with a hamstring injury. For what it’s worth, Pickett had 195 yards in his lone start vs Cleveland last year. 

 

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